Hello, my name is Dennis DeVendra. I live in Columbus, Ohio near downtown in an historic Neighborhood called German Village. My home was built in the late 1800's. This is not only my Home, it also serves as the location of my workshop/studio. During the winter time I work in the basement with my General Maxi lathe. This is the first lathe I purchased back in 2004. During the summer I work in the garage using my General 25-650 lathe. It is capable of holding a bowl up to 16 inches in diameter.

When I first started to turn, I made mostly pens. The progress was slow and the results progressed steadily. The breakthrough for me was when I received a lesson from my friend in bowl turning. This opened up a whole new area of possibilities. My only limitation was sharpening. I had used a high-speed bench grinder with a jig with unreliable results. I then found the Tormek Company with their touch-and-turn system. Since then I am able to sharpen all my turning tools to a razor sharp edge.

I continue to progress and get better. I was fortunate to study with Robert Rosand in the spring of 2008 at his shop in Pennsylvania. I am beginning to build a small following and sell some of my work. I can tell that turning will continue to be a passion for me for a long time.

In December 2008 I have joined the German Village Art League. I am looking to find a place where I can show my works on a regular basis. Stay tuned.

Since early in 2009 I have been focusing more on hollowing. I have found using the Kelton tools user friendly. I have purchased their hollowing rig, calipers, and several hollowing scrapers. After several conversations with Kel, the owner I was asked to join the Kelton team as a Tool Design Consultant. In this role I will be reviewing their tools and equipment and providing feedback to the Kelton team. You can watch me take a rough Maple log and turn it into a beautiful hollowed vase at the Kelton video website.